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The other day (12/22/2010), we had a late lunch at Carmelino’s Grill (Beside the Old Domestic Airport). We were already Super Hungry since it was almost 2pm and we just had Toast for breakfast. We ordered the following, Roast Beef, TBone Steak and Beef Salpicao. The Roast Beef was okay. The gravy was good and the beef was very tender. The Tbone, though not delicious, was neither good or bad. The use of A1 Steak Sauce made it more palatable, the meat was very tender though. The beef salpicao was just okay, I think it was more geared to drinkers. Over all, Carmelino’s Grill is geared toward’s the drinkers. As evidenced also by their waitresses in mini shorts and showing their cleavages. Price is a bit high.

The last time I ate here was almost 2 years ago (for reasons I will keep to myself). I was already hungry because of the horrendous traffic caused by the City Government of Mandaluyong’s Gift Giving so we just ended up at Tapa King. We ordered Beef on Rice Bowl (P110) and Tapantastic Bowl (P90). Both bowls already came with free drinks. First to arrive was the Beef on Rice Bowl. This is like Gyudon. Beef strips with onions and topped on rice. The beef was very tender plus the sauce just had the right blend. The rice was very well cooked. Not too dry or too wet. Tapa King has branches all over Metro Manila.

Yesterday Morning while waiting for my Friend to check out of Shangri-La Makati. We decided to have breakfast at UCC Coffee’s Park Cafe at Ayala Center, Makati (This is in front of Shangri-La Makati). We ordered the Fruit Platter and the Filipino Medley Breakfast. Service was fast and efficient. First to be served was the Filipino Medley Breakfast which consisted of Scrambled Egg, Fried Rice, Beef Tapa, Tocino and Chicken Longaniza. It was also served with Hot Cocoa. The Fruit platter was served with very fresh fruits. Quality of the fruits was very high. Before it was served they asked me what i wanted instead of the mangoes since the mangoes they had were already sour. It was pricey though at 199. The Filipino Medley Breakfast was good too. They obviously used high quality meats for this breakfast.And it was reflected at the P399 price. UCC Coffee’s Park Cafe is located at the Ayala Center. In front of Shangri-La Makati and just underneath the Parking Area.

Last Thursday we had a different kind of lunch, an Organic One and my first taste of Organic Cooking. The entrance to Herb Republic is via a Wooden Archway and it will lead you to a Green and Native inspired Dining Area. There are different choices of dining areas to choose from, there are the Native Huts at the back side, the regular dining area on the right side, and another dining area on the left side.

We started off with the French Onion Soup. Then the Roasted Rose Mary Chicken, Crispy Spinach and Crispy Pata. We ordered Lemon Grass Drink to gulp it all down.

The French Onion Soup tasted different from the French Onion Soup’s I am used to. It was not as creamy as the regular french Onion Soup and there was no taste of Onions or hint of Onion. The Roasted Rose Mary Chicken meanwhile lacked that juiciness and flavor I was expecting of a Roasted Rose Mary Chicken. Even with the 3 Dips provided it still lacked flavor. The Crispy Pata meanwhile was okay, but the meat wasnt juicy like othe…

Day 2 December 3,2010 I woke up around 5:30am. I Packed my things then we went down for Breakfast at 6:30am. We had Tapsilog for Breakfast plus Daing na Bangus on the side. We left the Hotel at 7:45am for Calapan. At 8:00am we were at Magsaysay Town. Some roads going to Bulalacao town were the worst, they should not be even called roads at all. We thought the worst was over but there was still a portion which was terrible. Around 5 or 6 kms before the town of Bulalacao, the roads improved and after the town of Bulalacao it was already paved roads. Roads already appeared on the GPS Unit and it was possible to input Calapan as our destination. It placed our Arrival Time at 1210M. We reached Mansalay at 955am. Bansud at 11am. Pinamalayan at 1125am. At 107 at Calapan. We then proceeded to Max for Lunch. At 2pm we arrived at Calapan Port, they have a different procedure here as you have to get a booking first at the Shipping Line’s Office. The earliest departure at 230 was already full so we …

Our Destination: San Jose, Occidental MindoroMode of Transport:Toyota HiLux and RoRoEntry Pier: Abra de Ilog, Occidental MindoroExit Pier: Calapan, Oriental MindoroI had been planning on trying the RORO for several years now, this year I had the chance so better to grab it while I can.Day 1 December 2, 2010We left the house at 240am. It was a smooth drive until we encountered some traffic at SLEX just before Sucat. The workers on the Skyway had turned the Highway into just 1 lane. Anyway after around 20 minutes of turtle paced movement it was back to 100 kmh speed. Danaya (our GPS) estimated arrival Batangas Pier at 420am, but she recalculated it to 439am because of the slow pace and finally 435am. Our first Toll amounted to P87. At 4am we were at the STAR Tollway. We paid P60 when we exited Star Tollway. We arrived at Batangas Pier at 435am. We paid 60 pesos at Gate 2 then Arrastre of 129. The Roro was scheduled to leave at 6am so we had to wait at the parking lot. At 550am we were us…